DOF and background size

By now you should be pretty comfortable with the understanding that wider…apertures yield shallower depth of field.…But think about this. This is kind of our fortune cookie moment here.…If a tree in the forest is out of focus because of shallow depth of field and no…one is around to see it, is it actually out of focus?…Here is what I'm taking about and why this is relevant.…Things in the background appear softer when you're using a wide aperture but if…there isn't anything in the background or if what's in the background is really small,…then you're not really going to be able to tell that you're shooting with…shallow depth of field, now are you?…Usually the point of shooting with shallow depth of field is to blur the…background out to bring more attention to your subject.…

But if there is nothing in your background, it won't really matter what…aperture you are at because you won't be able to see that anything in the frame is defocused.…So when you're trying to achieve shallow depth of field you need to think a lot…

Resume Transcript Auto-Scroll

Author

Released

2/11/2011

Many of the creative options available to a photographer hinge on an in-depth understanding of lenses. In Foundations of Photography: Lenses, Ben Long shows how to choose lenses and take full advantage of their creative options. The course covers fundamental concepts that apply to any camera, such as focal length and camera position, and shows how to evaluate and shop for DSLR lenses. The second half of the course focuses on shooting techniques: controlling autofocus, working with different focal lengths, and managing distortion and flare. The course also examines various filters and contains tips on cleaning and maintaining lenses.